One Kid reads a lot of poker strategy books. Co worker plays at small seedy card houses been at it a decade o says theres a small living that can be made for a good solid layer with some financial backing.
A former co-worker’s husband is good enough he could play professionally. He plays a lot of tournaments at local casinos and rarely doesn’t at least make the final table.
Here’s the reality, and the reason his wife won’t let him quit his job as an engineer and go Pro: Long hours, lots of travel, and no benefits. If a person is 22 years old, fresh out of college with no serious prospects in this job market, playing poker professionally for a year or two is no worse an idea than trying to be an actor or professional golfer. The odds of succeeding long term are slim, but it could be fun for someone to try when they are young and lack dependents.
However, once someone has a family, it’s virtually impossible to play poker professionally unless they can get enough sponsorships to guarantee a steady cash flow.
[quote=squat300]One Kid reads a lot of poker strategy books. Co worker plays at small seedy card houses been at it a decade o says theres a small living that can be made for a good solid layer with some financial backing.
Anyone here make their living playing poker?[/quote]
I bolded the sticking point… You need OPM – other people’s money…
Play online part-time and don’t quit your full-time job. Even if you make enough money, do you think the gambler is good role model for their children? Plus you hang out with bad desperate people too much and you will bring yourself down to their level. How about the social stigma? I personally can’t trust any serious gambler. Being a professional gambler is not that easy.
How is this better then being an equities, commodity, or derivatives trader at a wall street firm?
Seems to me, that’s the ultimate other people’s money…Heads you win (with a bonus).Tails you lose, but the government will bail your firm out. Especially if it’s Goldman.
If you have the pedigree to get hired by the firms you are speaking of flu then you are correct. However it seems to me that these firms are increasingly looking for guys to write code rather then relying on traders. I could be wrong.
However if you are just a guy trading on your own, I would rather take my chances at the poker table. At least everyone plays by the same rules in that game.
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